Sunday, March 4, 2012

Those miles aren't going to run themselves

I was pretty sore in the days post-Lord Hill 10 miler but racing downhill will do that so I wasn't too worried about it. Nothing was too terrible though. My outer quads were sore which is from stabilizing on those downhills and the muddy conditions and I'm sure I looked a bit funny coming down stairs at work and on escalators downtown for a couple days. My calves were really tight probably from that ridiculous hill we went up. They were burning on that climb. I now have new standards for hills too as an added bonus!

Still, I had a goal of getting another week of high mileage (for me). I needed to take a couple off of running just to take a break from the pounding. How do you get in 40 miles when you don't run longer than 12 miles for your long run and you take two days off from running? For me this means, I have to add in one double a week where I run both in the morning and afternoon and every run is about 5-6 miles except for that longer run on the weekend. Since I was sore, I usually decide to skip any faster paced workouts and that was this true this week as well as a precaution.

My run thursday am was tough. I was tired from the miles and the recovery from the race. I planned on 6 miles and finally it wasn't raining but it was cold and windy. Generally on early morning runs (I'm usually running by 5:45 am), the first mile is very slow as I warm up and wake up and after that I tend to increase pace to a more typical pace for me. This day, it was incredibly hard to get out of bed. I got up though and out and after that first warm-up mile, I did another at the slow, slow pace. Hmmm.

Yes, tired. 40 miles. I really wanted it for the week but should I? I took stock as I slogged along for another mile. Is anything hurting? No. Is my heart rate up for the slow pace I'm running meaning I'm showing some stress? No. Would it be better to run after work? Definitely NO! as I wanted the evening free. Could I bump this run to another day? No for various reasons. I'd gotten up and out early enough that even going the very slow pace, I still had time to complete my 6 miles and get a bit of time for a stretch before going to work.

These miles aren't going to run themselves. That was my mantra those last three miles and it was good to complete that run. I had a day off the next day and really enjoyed my hilly, challenging new 12 mile loop on saturday and a goodly paced easy 6 mile run on Sunday. 40 miles. done. Next week is a cutback week and I'm signed up for a half marathon on the weekend.

Racing or not for that half marathon will be a game day decision. Truthfully, I'm learning almost any workout is a game day decision and it's always a good reminder for me to take stock of how I'm feeling for any given workout.